When Ethel Cain goes ambient, she does not start with an experiment. She goes full-throat on testing the listener with something Philip Glass might love. The music is stark, and empty, like being in space and unable to breathe. This is something you turn on for a quick hit. Cain's new album, Perverts, forces you to actually listen.
Cain's new release, her second full-length record, begins with an in-your-face 12-minute work of art, "Perverts." If you do not like dissonant music, you'll hate the track and skip ahead. If you love Cain, you'll stay where you are. This is nothing new to her flock. People expect to be tested, just as the church, one of Cain's great dislikes, chooses to test. If you find your way through, you might be OK.
To be fair, Cain does not lie to the listener. She isn't having a bit of fun with us on the first track and then leaving well enough alone. She intersperses lyric-driven songs with more ambient tunes. There are only nine tracks on the record, and yet, it lasts an hour and 29 minutes. She doesn't cheat us, though; she never has.
Ethel Cain's Perverts is not made to challenge Taylor Swift
There is no trick to Cain, but always lots of magic. She knows what she wants from the songs she creates, and she understands some will not like it. If new listeners become fans, great. But she is not going to sell out for fame.
She could have after she had a song featured in the well-viewed film, It Ends With Us. Cain could have said, "I can make a lot of money this way." She still might, but she is not going to seek it out. At least, not yet. The best of Ethel Cain might be right now.
Long-time fans always knew she understood how to build tension. She does not make poppy-sounding songs. If she ever does, something has gone quite wrong. She has changed, and we do not (and we should not) want her to change. She is a pure artist who has quickly found her own path.
If you make it through "Perverts," which you should, then you will love the second song, and the only single from the album so far, "Punish." It feeds off the first track and then gives us a burst of extreme volume and just the right time. Cain is often upset about her past, Christianity, and abusive relationships, but she does not lack integrity. We suffer with her, only we get the enjoyment of the art she creates from her turmoil.
To be sure, however, the album is atmospheric and you should know that going in. Create some space in your home and turn off the lights with your headphones on. You will not be disappointed, though if you are a Cain fan, you will know not to expect to be.